The life-cycle of many to-be-recycled materials includes sorting at a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) and subsequent baling prior to shipping to an end recycler. This sorting and baling is done to improve the efficiency of recovery and to more accurately track amounts of materials being sent to the ultimate recyclers.
When a material enters a MRF, it generally is sent along a conveyor where it is sorted. The sorted materials are delivered to individual containment areas to accumulate. When it has been determined that a sufficient amount has been collected, the material is sent to a baler. Balers have materials delivered to them, often on a conveyor belt, and perform some compaction prior to forming and tying the bundled materials into individual bales.
Conventional sorting and baling facilities rely on two types systems for delivering materials to the balers. The first system has a sloped floor at the bottom of a sorting containment area. The sloped floor limits the space in the containment area, and it requires tall, expensive facilities to get the desired capacity. The area will have a door opening onto a conveyor, which leads to the opening of the baler. When it is determined that a sufficient amount of material has been collected, the door is opened (often by an operator who is located near the top of the facility, which may be uncomfortably hot), and the material is allowed to fall to the conveyor for transport to the baler.
In the second type, the containment area has a substantially flat floor. When it has been determined that a sufficient amount of material has been collected, the material is forced out toward the baler, often by a bulldozer or other heavy equipment.
Both of these systems may result in considerable error and fail to deliver consistent amounts of material to the baler. The first system relies on eyeballing that the right amount of material has been released and closing the door accordingly. The second type relies on an operator pushing the right amount of material, often requiring large machinery, out onto a conveyor. Because these systems often provide inconsistent amounts of material to the baler, the operation of the baler can be disrupted when there is not sufficient material to make a complete bale.
These and other unmet needs of the known art may be met by the exemplary systems and methods described herein. Exemplary embodiments include a system for metering waste materials. One exemplary embodiment of a system may include: a bunker adapted to receive and store waste materials, the bunker including an exit aperture; a chute adapted to channel waste materials into the bunker, the chute having an upper input aperture at a sorting area and a lower output aperture adapted to allow for transfer of sorted materials into the bunker; a conveying means positioned in the bunker and adapted to convey and meter a predetermined amount of waste material out of the bunker through the exit aperture; and a conveyor positioned to receive waste material from the conveying means and deliver it to a baler. Another exemplary embodiment of a system may include: a bunker adapted to receive and store waste materials, the bunker comprising an exit aperture; a chute adapted to channel waste materials into the bunker, the chute having an upper input aperture at a sorting area and a lower output aperture adapted to allow for transfer of waste materials into the bunker; means for weighing the amount of waste material in the bunker; a conveying means in association with the means for weighing, the conveying means adapted to convey and meter a predetermined amount of waste material out of the bunker through the exit aperture; and a conveyor positioned to receive waste material from the conveying means; wherein the means for weighing is adapted to facilitate transfer of a predetermined amount of waste material from the bunker to the conveyor. Exemplary embodiments of these systems may also include compaction means to compact (e.g., crush, densify, or otherwise compact) the waste material entering the bunker, thus maximizing the space in the bunker. Other exemplary embodiments may comprise various combinations of some or all of the aforementioned features.
Exemplary embodiments also include a method for metering and baling waste materials. One exemplary embodiment of a method may include: sorting waste materials; depositing the sorted materials in a bunker that comprises an exit aperture and a conveying means adapted to convey and meter a predetermined amount of waste material out of the bunker through the exit aperture; and metering a predetermined amount of waste material out of the exit aperture such as for baling. The method may further comprise transferring the waste material to a conveyor associated with a baling apparatus. Moreover, the method may include embodiments wherein the conveying means is an auger screw. Additionally, exemplary methods may include embodiments comprising the step of compacting the waste material prior to deposition in the bunker, and/or further comprising the step of weighing the waste material in the bunker to facilitate the step of metering a predetermined amount of waste material out of the exit aperture.
Additional advantages of the disclosed method and systems are in the description which follows, and in part are understood from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosed method and systems. For example, some embodiments may also be useful in other types of systems or for processing other types of materials. The advantages of the disclosed method and systems are realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive.
In addition to the novel features and advantages mentioned above, other benefits will be readily apparent from the following descriptions of the drawings and exemplary embodiments.